Breaking down the Texans’ defense by position

Seven games into the 2012 season, there is a lot to like about the Texans’ defense.

It is different from the 2011 version. There are different players on the roster, different players making the biggest plays and different expectations.

The Texans (6-1) have gone nine games, going back to last season, without giving up a rushing touchdown. They rank third in total yards allowed, fifth each in rushing and passing yards allowed and second in opponents’ third-down percentage.

“We want to win,” Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said. “The stats don’t make a whole lot of difference if you don’t win. You have to know how to win. I think our group knows that, and not only that, but you have to know how to prepare to win.”

Phillips provides his analysis:

Defensive line

“Our front seven and our D-line overall is a real strong group as far as talent. I think we’ve got guys that are real smart. They know their position. They know how to play it. Like I said, we give some of them more freedom than others. (Defensive end) Jared Crick came in and had a real good game (against the Ravens on Sunday) for us.

“We only have five now, so (nose tackle) Earl Mitchell played well in his position. (Defensive end) J.J. (Watt) always plays well. We played (nose tackle Shaun) Cody a lot more this game, and it helped us. (DE) Antonio (Smith) had an outstanding game. They’re a pretty strong group.

“(Watt has) come along so fast. Like I said at the end of the year last year, I thought he was playing tremendously well, and he’s carried it over into this season. He’s one of the best defensive linemen in the league. … Some players, you can say, ‘Hey, you have to play this way all the time.’ With J.J., you can say, ‘Hey, we’re going to let you play this, and whatever you see, go get.’ He makes the right decisions. He has a lot of freedom. Any time you get a great player, you give him as much freedom to do what they do best.”

Linebackers

“We’ve got very versatile guys. The outside guys can rush the passer and cover people. And our inside guys, the same way. It gives us a lot of versatility for those guys. In our run defense, our outside backers set the edge all the time. They really dominate tight ends. That’s not seen a whole lot in their play. There aren’t many outside runs on us, if you’ll notice. The only time anybody runs it, they try to get inside, but we’re forcing everything inside. So those guys do a really good job inside.

“We’ve had to replace (inside linebacker Brian Cushing), but those guys are coming on. (Tim) Dobbins has done a good job inside, and Bradie (James) is our signal caller who doesn’t make any mistakes, or hardly any mistakes. And Dobbins is an experienced guy. I think experience for the inside guys really helps just our whole theme for our linebackers.”

Safeties

“Both of them have cornerback ability, and they can cover. That gives us a lot of versatility on what we can do. We can call man-to-man and let them cover a tight end or even a wide receiver in some cases. You couldn’t do that if you had different-type people back there. Those two guys, they’re all over the field, they’re in the middle of the field a lot of the time. It’s like a deep linebacker. Both of them tackle really well.

“(Glover Quin) was fine at corner, but I think he’s a really good safety. It takes some time, and I think he’s a lot better this year than he was last year at this time — although he made a lot of plays last year. He was one of our leading tacklers last year. He’s got a knack for finding the football and helping in the running game, but I think he’s getting better and better in the passing game.

“(Danieal Manning is) a great leader. He was the Cushing of the secondary. He’s just all over the field. He’s able to make plays nobody else can make just because he can run so fast and he’s so athletic. He’s a blitzer. Part of (Connor) Barwin’s sack (of Joe Flacco for a safety on Sunday) is (Manning) was blitzing, so the back didn’t know who to pick up. So he went over and picked him up.”

Cornerbacks

“(Johnanthan Joseph is) our shutdown corner. You just don’t find many guys like that that you can put on the best receiver in every game and be able to compete and do well, and that’s what he does. He give us that comfort zone that, hey, whoever we’re putting him on is going to have a tough day, or they’re going to have to fight like heck to make plays.

“Kareem Jackson played outstanding. He’s in the top of the league in interceptions; his man doesn’t catch the ball very often. The things that we expect from J-Joe, he’s done the same thing on the other side. We know he’s going to be targeted a little bit more, though they’ve kind of gone away from that because … they keep throwing it over there, and he keeps making plays.

“I think he’s really improved technique-wise. Maturity-wise, as a person, I think he’s really come along well. A big part of it is him. Any time you go through, really, what he went through, with all the negatives about how you play and you can’t play and you’re a No. 1 pick and you’re a bust, or whatever people were calling him, that’s tough mentally. And a lot of players don’t come back from that. But he’s been strong enough mentally.